Authorities prepare for the disasters of tomorrow at this 160 acre site in the hills north of Los Angeles. Del Valle is a training center used by several emergency response organizations, operated by the Los Angeles County fire department. On site are training props for search and rescue, hazardous spill recovery, and industrial accident training such as partially collapsed buildings, underground tunnels, rail cars, city busses, and a portion of an oil refinery structure.
Del Valle is located on a hill top and uses 160 acres of land that the county bought from Unocal in 1984. Much of the focus of Del Valle is technical rescue training. There are industrial props (including a portion of an oil refinery), vehicle accident props(including propane-powered bus collisions and a collapsed building prop ), concrete slab cutting props, shoring training props, confined space rescue props, and other urban search and rescue facilities. There is also a hazmat training area with railcars and a chemical storage building, and a fire extinguisher training area.
Del Valle Training Center - Los Angeles County Fire Department
By kjfitz @ 2005-07-29 16:18:30
(updated 2012-04-11)